Confessions from the Velvet Ropes

The Mermaid Parade and unofficial after party at Ruby's Bar & Grill in Coney Island, June 18, 2011. Photos & text by Glenn Belverio

Dear mermastic and mermazing creatures of the deep and shallow,

It was my favorite day of the summer in New York: the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island, which is actually the sort-of first day of summer when the mermaids march across the beach and throw fruit in the sea as a pagan gesture to celebrate the solstice. I was a bit bummed before we set out for Coney because I read during the winter that my favorite bar in New York, Ruby's, had finally and sadly been evicted from their legendary space on the boardwalk....but halfway through the parade my friend Nancy suggested we walk over and see if by some miracle there was a new bar there that might be tolerable....and lo and behold, the old Ruby's was still there!

 

Turns out there were so many protests from all the Ruby's regulars that the landlord agreed to renegotiate their lease....so they have another year here and it will be a year-by-year situation moving forward. My Mermaid Parade coverage this year is sort of in reverse....here are my photos from the during and post-parade gathering at Ruby's which was definitely the best celebration I've experienced at Ruby's since I've been hanging out there for the past 10 year or so....spirits were high, everyone was in a great mood and it was the best costume party I've been to in years. My parade photos follow.

My friend Nancy on the right with our new true blue gal pal. After hanging out here for a few hours, Nancy--who is a left-wing documentarian of the Cuban Revolution--pronounced Ruby's revelers "the new America." 

 Me and a bat-winged clown.

This guy's headpiece seemed inspired by mermaids from Mordor (click photo to see details)

America may be an empire in decline but what makes this country still great is the freedom to deep-throat a corn dog anywhere you please, with liberty, justice and saturated fat for all.

"I don't give a crap if you don't like my hat, because I know it's amazing."

While Nancy and I were sitting on top of the freezer and sipping our New Moon ale, Nancy turned to me and said, "There's a gay in here." I looked over and sure enough, it was Misstress Formika in all his Dior glory! I'm pretty sure those shades were the only high-fashion accessory in the joint.

 I can't visit Coney Island without sucking down some fresh raw clams at Ruby's....slurrrrp!

This was the first year they had helium balloons at the parade....I didn't mind because they weren't annoying branded corporate cartoon balloons like the ones at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

 

Somehow Marge Simpson ended up with an entourage of sea horses...

 The pair of tropical fish were probably the highlight of the parade and the crowd went wild when they came careening down the boardwalk at high speed. A genius couple were riding bicycles inside them and they wove around each other erratically to mimic the movement of fish swimming.....the fish above nearly went off course and almost crashed right into us!

The hula-hoop girl was a major crowd-pleaser.

I thought this blond superhero was adorable.

A bit far from the sea, Nancy and I spotted this lone mermaid as we exited the subway in Park Slope/Gowanus on our way to visit our friend Christine after the parade.

Previous coverage:

Mermaid Parade 2010

Mermaid Parade 2009

Mermaid Parade 2008

Thanks for visiting.

Love,

Glenn Belverio

 

Dragão Fashion Brasil in Fortaleza, Brazil

Dear Readers,

My reports on fashion week in Fortaleza are up on A Shaded View on Fashion:

Dragão Fashion Brasil Part 1

Dragão Fashion Brasil Part 2

Beijos,

Glenn Belverio

2010: My year in jet-setting photos. By Glenn Belverio

Dear Transatlantic Tammies,

2010 was a winning year for global galloping and I have the god Mercury (and many government and fashion & textile sponsors) to thank for a series of successful jaunts. Here are some of my highlights from over 7 international locales.

Everyone knows that Rio de Janeiro is my favorite beach destination and I was blessed to be there for my birthday back in January.

 It was my third time in Rio and I finally made it out to Niteroi with my pals Carole and Arjun to see Oscar Niemeyer's Contemporary Art Museum up close and personal. We were not disappointed despite wandering around lost in the 100F unshaded sun for hours trying to find the museum.

A view inside Gaudi's sublime Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. 

Food writer Mark Bittman of the NY Times claims the best sandwich he's ever eaten is made at Cafe Viena on La Rambla in Barcelona. He was correct. The rich, fatty ham from the black-hooved pigs raised near Seville and the perfectly baked baguette were heaven.

 While in Rome at the end of January, I drifted aimlessly along the banks of the Tiber like Tennessee Williams' Mrs. Stone.

Lunch with my dear friend, the Calabrian fashion writer Nunzia Garoffolo at our favorite spot in the Roman neighborhood of Trastevere.  

After Rome, I hopped down to Valencia in the south of Spain to take in some sunshine and the sight of Santiago Calatrava's eerily futuristic architecture. 

 Valencia is a quiet but elegant city.

The (alleged) Holy Grail in the Cathedral of Valencia

During Valencia Fashion Week I had the pleasure of meeting the divine Rossy de Palma.

In February I was back in Rio at the invitation of ABIT to attend Carnaval.

It's almost impossible to describe the mind-blowing sensory overload of the Samba School parades in the Sambadrome, the center of the Carnaval celebrations.

Mexican artist Gabriel Ibarzabal and I were shanghaied into marching with one of the Samba Schools. It took us awhile before we realized that we were dressed as the internet!

Me in Ipanema.

 In March, I flew over to Los Angeles to meet up with my pal Michael Schmidt. Before we set off for Palm Springs, we had a requisite pig-out at In-N-Out Burger.

Schmidt in his '71 Camaro cruising past the famous windmills in the desert.

 Joshua Tree

 The sun set as we sipped organic margaritas by the Ace Hotel Palm Springs pool.

I was back in Rome in July and checked out the Zaha Hadid-designed MAXXI Museum. This gigantic skeleton sculpture is by the late artist Gino De Dominicis. 

Me (center) with my Italian friends Rinaldo Rocco and Nunzia at the Bernini Fountain in Rome.

 Diane Pernet and I were invited by Alex Murray-leslie of Chicks on Speed to an over-the-top Fashion Paella lunch by the sea in Barcelona. It was the paella to end all paellas.

Thousands of eccentric Elisava University students and revelers spill off Las Ramblas in Barcelona during a guerrilla performance event organized by Alex Murray-leslie who is a professor at the school. 

A gaily painted apartment building in Madrid. 

 Lunch in Madrid. Spain is absolutely my favorite food destination.

 Shopping at the psychedelic punk mall in Madrid.

A concession stand in the Museum Quartier in Vienna.

One of Otto Muehl's perverse paintings at the Leopold Museum in Vienna. 

Ad for a theatrical production in Vienna. I think it was a comedy. 

 Vienna is a frothy fairytale facade concealing dark secrets.

Thanks for taking this trip with me.

Ciao,

Glenn Belverio

Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011 Pt. 2 + My Zaha Hadid Room at the Puerta America Hotel

Dear Readers,

The rest of my Madrid reports are up on A Shaded View on Fashion:

Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011 pt 2

Photo essay on Zaha Hadid's design for the Puerta America Hotel

Besos,

Glenn Belverio

 

Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011 Pt. 1

Dear Readers,

Just got back from Vienna after 3 grueling flights and my body feels like Silly Putty. I'll be posting my reflections on Vienna Fashion Week soon but in the meantime, part one of my Madrid Fashion Week report is up here on A Shaded View on Fashion.

Besos,

Glenn Belverio

 
Agatha Ruiz de la Prada in Madrid. Photo: Glenn Belverio

New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011: Christian Siriano, Kanye West, Jeremy Scott, Jen Kao, Billy Reid, Mandy Coon, Nordic designers, Telepan, Lincoln Center & more.

 Veronica Webb & Christian Siriano. Photo: Glenn Belverio

Dear Readers,

I made some time to check in with a few designers during New York Fashion Week--links to my coverage on A Shaded View on Fashion below:

Christian Siriano, Jen Kao, Mandy Coon, Billy Reid

Jeremy Scott

Nordic Designers

I'm off to Madrid & Vienna now for more shows. Later dolls!

Ciao,

Glenn Belverio

Kanye West at Jeremy Scott. Photo: Glenn Belverio

080 Barcelona Fashion Spring/Summer 2011: Manuel Bolano, Juan Antonio Avalos, Jade Jagger, Songzio, Juun J & Maria Luisa.

Dear Readers,

My coverage of the latest edition of 080 Barcelona Fashion is up on A Shaded View on Fashion.

Later,

Glenn Belverio

 

AltaRoma AltaModa Spring/Summer 2011 in Rome: Franca Sozzani, Fendi, Valentino, Bobby Kennedy III & Gina Lollobrigida.

Italian Vogue editor-in-chief & Twitter philosopher, Franca Sozzani at a 19th-century Roman slaughterhouse

Dear Readers,

My report on the latest edition of AltaRoma AltaModa is up on A Shaded View on Fashion.

Ciao,

Glenn Belverio

Bobby Kennedy III in Rome. Photo: Glenn Belverio
 

The Mermaid Parade in Coney Island, June 19, 2010. Photos by Glenn Belverio

Dear ecologically threatened mer-people,

The oil may still be gushing into the Gulf and making its way up to the north-east coast (and England!) but at least we had picture-perfect weather on Saturday for my favorite summer event, The Mermaid Parade. I've been attending this Coney Island parade on-and-off since the late '80s and am happy to report that it hasn't changed all that much. It's still wonderfully rag-tag and eccentric with a refreshing absence of any kind of corporate branding or advertising. (It's also the largest art parade in the US.) 

 

The big changes in Coney Island that we bohemian types have been fretting about for five years were not all that bad so far: The old Astroland was torn down last year and has been replaced by a sparkling new Luna Park (the name comes from an early-1900s incarnation of Coney Island's amusement park). Thankfully it's no glossy, corporate Disney production but I think it's nice the kids have brand-new rides. (And of course, the Cyclone and the Wonder Wheel, both historical landmarks, remain, as does the disused but refurbished Parachute Jump.) I was dismayed to hear that the Shore Hotel/Theater, where Tod Browning's "Freaks" premiered in 1932, has been earmarked for demolition as are a few other landmark buildings.

But onto happier thoughts: Here are my highlights from this year's parade...

Of course our first stop was Ruby's Bar & Grill on the boardwalk (the space was a speakeasy & underground cabaret in the '20s. After a long stint as a Hebrew National Deli starting in 1934, it became Ruby's in 1975. Without it, Coney Island would have no soul.) We loved this trio of bathing beauties.

Raw clams & beer at Ruby's is a long-standing Mermaid tradition for me.

 

Another not-so-great change in Coney is the old boardwalk being torn up and replaced with concrete. (Update: I received this message from Ruby's: "The boardwalk is not being replaced with Concret. They are reinforcing with concret then the natural Honduras wood goes on top. The area from Keyspan to Cyclone will always be the natural wood.") The parade ran along the old boardwalk side, with a fenced-off construction area cutting the width of area for parade watchers in half. Feeling claustrophobic, we fled to the parking lot where many of the marchers were being siphoned off....

 

...and I ran smack dab into this year's Queen Mermaid & King Neptune: Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed. Lou eschewed the traditional crown for a cap from Totonno's pizza parlour. (More on that later.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the main themes at the parade this year was--surprise!--the BP oil spill disaster. Oil-covered mermaids were legion, as were agit-prop placards (BP = Boycott Pollution).

 

 

There were even oil-covered Somalian pirates....

 

This was my favorite: a zombie mermaid whose flesh had been dissolved by the oil spill.

 

 

The protest slogans were a bit....I don't know....it is just me, or are they a bit pointless? Would BP care if a mermaid swam in their toilet? Would a mermaid fit inside a toilet? And if they could, what would that achieve?

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, back at Ruby's.....

 
....a spontaneous mermaid mosh pit broke out.

No, I didn't travel back to 1940 to take this photo of the Cyclone...but wouldn't that be grand if I could?

 

I talked everyone into riding the Cyclone (Corey & I stayed on for a second ride.) Here's Christine on her post-ride high!

 

 
 

Exhausted and starving, we made a pilgrimage to Totonno's Pizza on Neptune Avenue. It's considered the best pizza in the US. Opened in 1924, it is the oldest continuously operating pizzeria in the country.

On our way there, we were told by a local: "They have a LOT of attitude there....so make sure you give it right back to them!" When we arrived there was a long line of Brooklyn hipsters waiting to get in. Inside people were lingering over cups of melted ice, couples hogging tables that could seat six, a lone woman waiting over a half hour for a take-out pizza taking up a table that seated four. The staff could have cared less about the people waiting outside. I didn't mind waiting (we bought some cans of Foster's at a nearby gas station and sipped away in line); I just thought the restaurant's laid-back, almost passive-aggressive attitude was hilarious.

Of course, not everyone is as mellow as I am. One outraged guy went inside and started loudly complaining about the seating arrangements and the long wait. He was swiftly kicked to the curb by a tough-as-nails waitress who looked like she had seen it ALL.

Next was a bleached-blonde, leathery junkie woman who, despite the fact that she lived in Coney Island most of her life, was flabbergasted by everything that was happening around her. "Did you see the shit that's going on up on that damn boardwalk?! There are a bunch of fucking MERMAIDS running around up there!" And she wasn't trying to be funny. Then she was appalled by the wait to get into the pizzeria and went in and complained. She nearly escaped being turned into sausage by the chef.

 

The pizza , cooked in a coal-burning brick oven, was definitely worth the wait. The thin crust was heavenly, with a smoky taste, and the pie was delightfully grease-free. All the ingredients tasted very fresh. We wolfed down two pies.

Corey digs into his slice.

 

Nancy contemplates the beauty and simplicity of a plain slice.

 

I of course wanted sausage and mushrooms on mine and as you can see, I look like a maniac eating it.

 

We burned off some calories by walking back to the entrance of the new Luna Park. It's designed to look like the original Luna Park entrance.

A postcard image of Luna Park in 1913.

This 105-year-old film clip starts off slow but it has many rewards...including a live camel ride and a woman mysteriously collapsing on the beach.

 

Thanks for visiting!

Love,
 Glenn Belverio

Previous coverage:

 2009 Mermaid Parade

2008 Mermaid Parade

080 Barcelona Fashion Fall/Winter 2010

Dear Readers,

I'm in Valencia at the moment, their fashion week just wrapped up, and am enjoying the warm southern Spanish sun and the lovely sights of this laid-back city. Last week I was in Barcelona, again covering the latest edition of 080 Barcelona Fashion. My full coverage can be read here at A A Shaded View on Fashion.

 

Me at Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

Watch out for my Alta Roma Alta Moda report (I was also in Rome a few days ago) and also what promises to be a spectacular trip: I'm being whisked off to Rio again, this time to cover the 4 days of Carnaval next weekend. Meet me in Copacabana, darlings....

Kisses,

Glenn Belverio